When a team of FBI agents lands in Baghdad this week to probe Blackwater security contractors for murder, it will be protected by bodyguards from the very same firm.

Half a dozen FBI criminal investigators based in Washington are scheduled to travel to Iraq to gather evidence and interview witnesses about a Sept. 16 shooting spree that left at least 11 Iraqi civilians dead.

"It makes absolutely no sense that the FBI will be protected by the very people they are investigating," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan). "But given how the administration runs this war, it's hardly surprising."

In the past, FBI SWAT or hostage rescue team members protected other agents in the war zone. But the hostage rescue team force has been shrinking under the strain of bodyguard duty, leaving the FBI to rely increasingly on Blackwater when military escorts aren't available, sources said.

Well when the military investigates infractions and crimes the investigators tend to be military people guarded by military people being paid for out of the military budget etc etc etc. You also have the police investigating the police, government accountants auditing the government, lawyers prosecuting embezzling lawyers, scientists doing peer reviews of other scientists and so forth and such not.

In this case unless you feel that the Blackwater bodyguards will lead the FBI team into an ambush or that the FBI team is so weak willed as to be influenced by some rent-a-grunt I don't see any real problem.

Yes because a blackwater pilot is going to be "yes! I will sacrifice my life and the life of my copilot in order to derail an investigation that may or may not have some possiblity of distant harm on the company of which I am an employee! find me a gulch damnit!"

Well, I wasn't crouching in the back of his head so I can't tell you with any degree of certainty. However, I do not think that Issa is in any position to issue credible threats against waxman that depends on the involvement of Blackwater. The guy might be an elected official but he's just a Representative and really doesn't have enough influence to do much of anything except blow some hot air. Unless you want to posit that he has some sort of real power over Blackwater or is privy to deep dark corporate secrets.

I don't think he was making a threat, but I don't think he was saying anything about Waxman, either. He's just pointing out that being guarded by the company you are investigating for being too unlawfully trigger-happy is a not particularly attractive situation to be in.